sump/fuge combo or separate?

[newty]

hello,
not sure if this has been posted and i couldnt find it, but what do you think is better, a sump/refugium combo or my overflow is separated between 2 of them? i am basically putting a DIY acrylic tank under my stand, resting on the floor (on top of a pad of styrofoam). i visualize the design as the water enters the left side, skimmer is there, and water flowing into the refugium, and a baffle to separate the fuge and return pump on the right hand side. i was thinking of making it as big as possible that would fit under my metal stand: 46' long by 17' wide by 22' high and water level only goes up to about 18' to allow room for overflow.
any comments on the question posed above, and/or my setup?
thanks, newty.

 

[essop3]

This is the model I used. I used 2 rubbermaid containers. One for the skimmer and return and a smaller one on the right for the fuge. I then connected them with bulkheads, kinda like a drilled overflow back to the return.

 

[benj2112]

I think the combo idea would be fine. The only benefit from having them separate is if you can situate your fuge so it is above your tank and gravity feeds back into your tank giving a good supply of pods and such that don't have to go through pump blades to get back to the display tank.